Certain agricultural crops, animals, or insects may be more sensitive than others to the application of one or more applied substances, and may not be the target of the application. The applied substances may include pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides, other growth promoting or inhibiting compounds, or excessive amounts of water. For example, a colony of honeybees may be sensitive to a pesticide, so that a small amount of airborne pesticide, drifting from one field to another field, may damage or destroy the colony, even if it was released to support crops in an adjacent field. Similarly, a field of tomatoes may be sensitive to one or more pesticides, so that a small amount of the pesticide may damage the tomatoes and reduce the overall output of tomatoes in the field. Further, an at-risk habitat may include plants and animals that are sensitive to one or more applied substances, or an endangered species may be present in a particular area to be protected from further population decreases. In another example, a watershed or drainage basin may be identified, and the application of chemicals near the watershed may be prohibited or undesirable. Additionally, the presence or absence of workers in an area, the presence or absence of nearby population centers, or the presence of homes, businesses, or other industrial areas may also be considered when applying chemicals to fields.
In addition, some crops or animals are marketed having certain properties. An example property is that the crop is organically grown or that the animal is raised on organic food. For these crops, applied substances drifting from an adjacent field may make the crop or animal unsuitable for marketing as having the certain properties, such as organic.
Federal and/or state regulatory bodies maintain a list of requirements for the application of certain substances to fields, and creates “buffer zone” or proximity limit requirements for specific substances. For example, the proximity limit requirements define additional areas surrounding a field where certain substances should not be applied due to proximity to sensitive areas and/or species of animals or plants. Techniques for application of substances which tends to reduce or limit the exposure of people and/or animals to the substances, or additional precautions taken for the application of the substances, may be rewarded with “buffer credits” or drift reduction technology credits as limit reductions. The limit reductions include, but are not limited to, rewards in the form of smaller required buffer zone distances for applications of the same substance, or other rewards for reducing exposure to substances.
Websites are known which permit members of the public to identify areas containing crops or animals that are either sensitive to applied substances or that are being raised for marketing with certain properties. A substance applicator, such as a farmer, a specialized applicator, or pilot, may refer to the website prior to applying a substance, such as a pesticide, to crops in a field. By referring to the website prior to spraying the field the applicator is able to determine the presence, if any, of areas containing crops or animals that are either sensitive to applied substances or that are being raised for marketing with certain properties and to plan the intended spraying accordingly.